1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for washing vehicles. More specifically, it concerns apparatus for washing the wheels and tires of heavy duty vehicles that have accumulated mud and debris on their wheels, tires and undercarriages, which material should be washed from the vehicles prior to their utilization of public roads.
2. Description of Prior Art
The prior art that is deemed to be relevant to the present invention is represented by prior patents that have issued in my name as inventor. Those patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,730,164, issued May 24, 1998, and 4,917,125, issued Apr. 17, 1990. More recently, on Apr. 16, 2001 I filed an application entitled, Vehicle Tire and Wheel Washing Apparatus, which is identified by application Ser. No. 09/834,862. Each of these patents discloses an elongated trough having entrance and exit ramps through which a heavy duty vehicle passes to have debris removed from its wheels and tires.
While each of these two patents and pending application has the same general object—the removal of debris from heavy duty vehicles and the disposal of that debris after it has been washed from the vehicles—they accomplish their functions in different manners and with different degrees of efficacy. Thus, in the two patents the washing apparatus is configured so that a mesh grating is positioned over the bottom of the trough and the vehicle, e.g., a truck, drives onto the grating where it is subjected to wash sprays to remove debris, which falls through the grating and into the bottom of the trough. After there has been an accumulation of debris, passage of trucks into the washing apparatus must cease while the grating is pivoted out of its horizontal, vehicle supporting position and the debris is manually removed. While the apparatus disclosed in those patents certainly accomplishes its function, it will be apparent that halting a line of trucks that have, for example, just left an excavation site that is muddy from a recent rain, is not an economic decision, as the trucks and their drivers will be costing a considerable sum while they wait in line. Further, subjecting a mesh grating to the continual passage of heavy vehicles subjects that grating and its supports to considerable stress, and when the grating or one of its supports collapses when a truck is in the trough, the result can be catastrophic, presenting the problem of damage to the truck and the washing apparatus, injury to the driver, and how to remove the vehicle from the apparatus without further damaging all of them.
My pending application overcomes the difficulties encountered in the use of mesh gratings on which a vehicle is suspending. In that application a vehicle tire and wheel washing apparatus is disclosed in which debris is removed by other means and that debris flushed from the system, and then pumped through a drainage pipe to a unit that separates the debris from the wash water. While this is an efficient system, and while it can be operated on a continuing basis so that a long line of vehicles can be washed without having the line stopped to effect removal of accumulated trash, the use of an individual tank that separates liquid and solid materials from the tank is expensive and in some cases cannot be cost justified, no matter how effective the apparatus is in accomplishing its intended purpose.
Thus, in some instances, despite my prior inventions, there is still a need for apparatus economically and continuously to wash the wheels and tires of trucks. That need is made self-evident when one watches a stream of trucks leave a construction site after a rain and leave a trail of dirt and debris on the road for a considerable distance. Such trail is not only offensive to the eye, but can present a real hazard to motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians who must use that road.
It is, therefore, a prime object of the present invention to provide a tire and wheel washing apparatus that will be continuous in operation and which will not have to cease operation while accumulated debris and dirt are periodically removed from the equipment.
It is another object of my invention to accomplish that prime objective in an economic and efficient manner, and to do so by the use of a single piece of equipment without the requirement of separate equipment for filtering liquids and solids removed from the floor of the wash trough.
It is still another object of my invention to provide a tire and wheel washing apparatus in which wash water is recycled so that the loss of water used in the washing process will be maintained at a minimum.